Ettienne Retief, SAIPA

Like many organisations operating in the digital space, the acquisition, analysis and application of data has become a core foundation for how the South African Revenue Service (SARS) functions. The country’s revenue service has undergone a significant transformation in recent years, leveraging generative AI, big data analytics, and machine learning to enhance its tax collection efforts.

This digital transformation has paid dividends. For the last tax year, SARS reported a total net amount collected of R1.74 trillion, surpassing the revised estimate by nearly R10 billion and exceeding last year’s total of R1.69 trillion by R54 billion.